The present invention relates to color matching of paint and, more specifically, to color matching metallic paints.
Paints containing light-reflecting particles, such as metal flake (such paints hereinafter being referred to as “metallic paints”) are widely used in certain application fields. Metallic paints exhibit a change in lightness or color when they are viewed at different angles. This change in lightness or color (which is commonly referred to as “flop”) is desirable for certain products, such as automobiles, because it accentuates the contours of the product. Unfortunately, this change in lightness or color makes color matching of metallic paints more difficult. It is generally believed that a quality color measurement of a metallic paint cannot be obtained by taking a color measurement reading of the metallic paint at a single angle using a regular spectrophotometer or calorimeter. Therefore, when color matching a metallic paint, it is conventional practice to take color measurements of the metallic paint at a plurality of different angles (usually at least three) using a goniospectrophotometer.
The present invention, however, is directed to a method for accurately color matching a metallic paint using a regular spectrophotometer that takes a color measurement reading of the metallic paint at a single angle.